


Make You Smile Until It Hurts

by cryptidhunter461



Series: Make You Smile Until It Hurts [1]
Category: Criminal Minds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-10 17:41:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7854748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryptidhunter461/pseuds/cryptidhunter461
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I've never written my own episode before, I did the best I could</p></blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Today had been a long day. I moved into my new apartment today in DC. I had gotten a new job here and finally had all my stuff in my new place. I had been unpacking while the movers moved my stuff into my new place. So far all I had done was unpacked all of my books, which was half of my stuff. I ended up getting hungry so I left do get some basic groceries.  
I can be stubborn sometimes. I decided all my groceries upstairs in one trip, which wouldn’t normally be a problem, except I couldn’t see where I was going. I was doing really good till I got to my floor. I was almost to my apartment when I ran smack dab into someone.  
I fell backward, my groceries spilling everywhere. I look around, glad I didn’t get eggs or breakable things. I instantly start apologizing to whoever it is I ran into.  
“I am so sorry. I couldn’t see where I was going and I am a horrible person.” I start picking up my groceries again till I see a hand holding one of my bottles of soda. I then look up to see who is attached to the hand.  
He was very handsome. He had long, slightly curly, brown hair, hazel eyes, a little pale, and looks like he is pretty tall. He was wearing black slacks, a light purple dress shirt with the top couple of buttons undone, a purple and white diamond tie, and black converse. He seemed very unsure about what he should be doing at that moment, probably didn’t help that I was staring at him. I finally reach for the bottle.  
“Thanks.” I finally stand up, holding some of my groceries in my arms. He started rocking on the balls of his feet and biting his lip.  
“Do-uh-do you need any help?” He asks, still seeming very nervous. I smile up at him.  
“I would like that, thanks.” He grabs everything else that was on the floor and follows me to my apartment. I open the door and tell him to put the groceries down on the counter. I set my groceries down on the counter, right by where the guy set it down. He started looking around my place.  
“You just--just move in?” He asks. I walked over to him.  
“Yup. I haven’t unpacked much, just my books so far.” He moves his head toward my bookshelf.  
“I can see that.” I then stick my hand out in front of him.  
“I’m Abbie.” He looks at me, then my hand, then my back at me. He finally reaches out and shakes my hand.  
“Spencer, I live across the hall.” I smile.  
“Well it is very nice to meet you, Spencer. And I am sorry for running into you earlier.” I blush a little, embarrassed that I did that. He shakes his head.  
“Don’t-don’t worry about it.” He then looks back at my door then back at me, then to the floor. “I have to-uh go.” He starts to head toward the door.  
“Nice to meet you!” I shout as he heads down the hallway as fast as he could. I walk over and shut my door. “Great way to meet the neighbors, Abbie. Run into them, literally.”  
I then make me something quick to eat and finish unpacking my stuff. Every time I move I realize how much stuff I have and I wouldn’t get rid of any of it. At some point I hear footsteps outside my door, I then hear the door open and close across the hall. Spencer must be home. When I finished unpacking, I take a quick shower and then head to bed, for I start my new job tomorrow, a psychologist for the FBI.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning was a blur. I had gotten up early, got dressed in black jeans, light blue shirt, black blazer jacket, and my black converse high tops. I quickly pull my light brown hair into a claw clip and put on makeup to make my blue eyes stand out. I was so nervous for my first day that I didn’t eat breakfast. There was a coffee shop right outside the apartment building where I got myself a nice coffee and head to the FBI building.  
When I get there, I see Assistant Director Strauss waiting for me at the front. I walk over there, trying to contain my excitement.  
“Nice to see you again, Ms. Sheppard.” I smile at her. And shake her hand.  
“Same. I can’t wait to start.” She nods.  
“There might be more to your job then you realize. Follow me.” She turns and starts walking toward the elevators. I follow, trying to keep up with her as much as I possibly can.   
While in the elevator, it’s quiet. My excitement is growing with each floor we go up. I am amazed I can contain it. When the elevator stops and we get out we walk down a hallway with a bunch of offices. I look around a little bit, I noticed an office with lots of computer and techie like stuff with a girl typing away. I couldn’t see what she looked like.   
Strauss shows me into a room across the hall from the tech room. It’s a pretty nice size room with a desk and a bookcase. On one side is a couch and a chair for my therapy sessions.  
“This will be your office.” Strauss tells me. “But you can get comfortable later, I want you to meet someone else.” I nod and follow her. We end up in a huge room with lots of desk and people wandering around and a couple more offices up a set of stairs.  
As I follow Strauss up the stairs, I look over and notice a group of five people watching me closely. One I recognized as Spencer. As I got his eyes, his widen and then he looked down and away. I chuckle to myself and look away.  
We walk into one of the offices and there is a man sitting at the desk. He looks very professional, dressed in a suit, short black hair, dark brown eyes, and looks like he almost never cracks a smile.  
“Abbie Sheppard this is Agent Aaron Hotchner, leader of the BAU.” He stands up and offers his hand to me. I smile at him.  
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Agent Hotchner.”  
“Likewise Ms. Sheppard. I wanted to ask you some questions about your schooling.” He gestures toward the chair in front of his desk and I sit down.  
“I saw that you had a doctorate in psychology by the time you were 18, which is impressive on its own but after that you ended up with five more associates in four years after that.”  
“Zoology, geology, botany, cultural studies, and environmental science. Plus I took a lot of extra classes and learned a lot from them.” Hotch looks at me and raises a single eyebrow. “I have an eidetic memory but only to sound so I remember everything I hear.” He nods understanding.  
“We were hoping that, outside of just being the psychologist for the FBI, that we could use you as a consultant on some of our cases. Means you would come with us and help us.” My eyes widen but so does my smile.  
“I would love to help the BAU on cases. Whenever you need, give a text or a call.” I stand up. He then hands me a file.  
“Actually, I think we have a case but not completely sure yet. I’d like you to look at the case file and tell me what you think.” I smile and grab the file.  
“No problem, Agent Hotchner.” I start to walk out of his office.  
“Sheppard,” I turn around to look at him. “Call me Hotch.” I smile and do a small salut and walk out.   
As I pass the group again, still all watching me, I catch Spencer’s eyes again but before he can look away I do a small wave and then head to my office to look over the file.


	3. Chapter 3

I spend all day looking through the case file, only spending my lunch hour to run home and get a to go back. Hotch come in and told me I will need one in case I ever get called.  
While I was looking through the case, I would feel a set of eyes on me through the open door. I would glance up now and then but whoever it was always was gone by the time I would look up  
“What do you think about the case Sheppard?” I look up and see Hotch standing in front of me.  
“I think it’s in a really remote place, you can’t get any more remote than Alaska. Also since it is in Alaska I think your killer is from the town where the killings are happening, too much wilderness in between for them to travel. Plus you are looking for someone a little younger, maybe 20s.” Hotch nods.  
“How well do you know the Alaskan wilderness?”  
“Personally I have never been to Alaska, but I have practically lived in the forest around Idaho and Montana my entire life. As long as you always have contact with the people you’re with and never go anywhere alone you should be ok.  
“Good. You’re coming with us on this case. The rest of the team should be here soon. Meet us in the conference room.” I nod as he walks off. I then collect the case file and get up, that's when I feel someone watching me. I glance at the corner of my eye and see Spencer standing there, biting his lip and rocking on the balls of his feet.  
“You going to actually talk to me or just keep staring at me?” I look up at him with a smile on your face. His eyes widen and looks at the ground, not expecting me to catch him  
“I just--I wasn’t--expecting to see you here.” I chuckle and shake my head.  
“Well you didn’t ask why I moved or what my job was, you just sort of ran out.” He rubs the back of his neck as he still looks at the ground. I walk over to him. “Since you work here, mind showing me where the conference room is?” He finally looks up at me and nods. I smile and walk over to him.  
“So are you, um, a new agent?” He asks.  
“Nope. I’m a psychologist, but your boss, Hotch, also would like be to be a consultant on some of your cases.” Spencer looks over at me with a quizzical look.  
“How did-” I cut him off.  
“You and the group that was staring at me, are located in the desks closest to Hotch’s office, means you are the ones that work for him. Which means you guys are the BAU.” His eyes widen a little, seeming surprised that I was able to tell all of that. We end up at a room back in the bullpen with a big screen on the wall and a round table set up in it.  
“Are you coming on this case with us?” He asks me as he takes a seat at the table. I sit down next to him, starting to feel the nervousness about meeting the rest of the team. I nod.  
“Hotch thinks some of my expertise will help with this case.”  
“In psychology?” I shake my head.  
“That’s what my Doctorate is in but I have 5 associate's degrees and knowledge in lots of other subjects.”  
“We got a girl genius in the house.” I look up and see a black guy, with nice muscles, bald, slight goatee, and very nice looking walking into the room. He walks over to me holds out his hand for me. “Agent Derek Morgan.” I shake his hand.  
“Dr. Abbie Sheppard.” He smiles and then looks back over at Spencer.  
“You got competition Dr. Reid.” Derek says. He then sits down at the table as I look over at Spencer.  
“How smart are you Doctor?” I ask, hopefully showing how curious I actually am.  
“Graduated high school at age 13, I have 3 doctorates, 2 BAs, a 187 IQ, an eidetic memory, and I can read 20,000 words per minute.” My eyes widen as he tells me that. He looks down at the table not really looking my direction.  
“That is awesome!” I squeal. This seemed to surprise him so much that he was speechless. After that, three girls walked in and sat down. One had blond hair, blue grey eyes, and was very pretty. The other had black hair, brown eyes, and a slight pale complexion. The last one looks like the girl who was in the computer room. She had bright red hair, brown eyes, and seemed very bubbly. They then all seemed to noticed me at the same time.  
“Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t noticed you there. I’m Emily Prentiss.” The black hair girl stands up and shakes my hand.  
“Dr. Abbie Sheppard.” I say. The blond hair girl then shakes my hand.  
“Jennifer Jareau, you can call me JJ.” The red hair girl stands up and walks over to me.  
“I’m Penelope Garcia. I’m more of a hugger so come here.” She bends down and hugs me tight. Hotch walks in after that and hands everyone a file.  
“We are waiting on one more.” Just as he says that, an older looking guy dressed in a suit walks in.  
“Whoa!” Emily says.  
“Sorry to ruin your night.” Hotch tells him.  
“What, are you working on wife number 4?” Derek asks him.   
“I see you people way too much.” After he sits down, he notices me. “I’m David Rossi and who is this beautiful girl?”  
“Everyone this is Dr. Abbie Sheppard, our newest psychologist. She will be a consultant on this case.” Everyone looks at me. I get nervous, wave then look back at the file. “Let's get started.”  
“All right. Anchorage field office is asking us to investigate a series of murders in Franklin, Alaska. There's 3 people dead in less than a week.” JJ says.  
“For a town with a population of 1,476, that's fairly significant.” Spencer says. And there is the eidetic memory coming through.  
“It's their first murder investigation on record.”  
“Who are the victims?” Rossi asks.   
“Uh, Jon Baker, a hunter. Dedaimia Swanson, a schoolteacher. Brenda Bright, the first mate on a fishing boat. There's a new victim every 2 days.”  
“Any connections?” Emily says.  
“Unfortunately, in a town this small, everyone's connected.”  
“Different kill methods. It says the first two victims were both shot with a rifle, but Brenda Bright was stabbed twice with an arrow?” Derek asked.  
“Are we sure it's the same guy?” Rossi asks.  
“All 3 victims were found in heavily trafficked areas. The unsub wants them found sooner than later.” Hotch says.  
“Jon Baker's body was left exposed to the elements, But the two women were buried under mounds of trash. Why?” Emily asks.  
“It could be a sign of remorse. Cover their bodies so he doesn't have to face the reality of what he's done.” Spencer says.  
“Or he thinks that the women are trash and he's just placed them where he thinks they belong.” Derek says.  
“Well, we can't be sure of anything yet.” JJ says.  
“Franklin is an isolated fishing community that's been hit really hard by the current economy. Add the fact that they have unsolved murders, most small communities would be on edge.” I says. It got quiet and I noticed everyone looking at me.  
“The local sheriff's out of his depth. And Alaska hasn't handled a serial investigation since Robert Hansen in the eighties. We'll fly out tonight. Everybody can sleep on the plane. Garcia, I need you with us.” Hotch says. She then has a surprise look on her face.  
“Sir?”   
I've tasked a satellite uplink And it's your job to keep us connected.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“This town's already on the brink, And if this pattern continues, we've only got another day Until the next murder. Let's finish this fast.” Everyone then stands up, grabbing there files and start to file out of the room. I quickly grab my file and try to catch up with them. Derek, Spencer, and Penelope are all waiting for me. Penelope laces her arm through mine.  
“So have you seen there fancy smancy jet yet?” She asks me.  
“Uh no I haven’t, today was my first day.”  
“Well you are having a very exciting first day aren’t you?” Derek says. I nod, they walk me out of the building, Penelope telling me how we have to hang out and how she wants to know everything about me and all this other stuff. Derek tries to calm her down but it only works for so long. Spencer was just quiet, keeping his head down, his long hair becoming a curtain blocking us from him.  
When we get to the jet and I get on, I stop and stare, amazed at how, using Penelope’s language, fancy smancy it was. There was a kitchen, a table with four chairs around it, a couch, another smaller table with only two chairs around and a couple other chairs.  
I sit down in the middle of the couch, still amazed that I was here. Spencer sits down on one side of me, Penelope on the other. Rossi, Emily, JJ, and Derek sit around the table and Hotch leans against this dresser thing that is at the end of the couch. As we take off, we look over the file some more.  
This guy's all over the map. Crosses sex and race boundaries.” Emily says. I put my file down, put my head down so my chin is touching my chest, close my eyes and just listen. “He changed his kill method. It says to me he's disorganized.”  
“Yet there weren't prints at any of the crime scenes, and he isolated his victims.” Rossi says.  
“Wearing gloves and making sure there aren't any witnesses-- that's a no-brainer, but what concerns me is the evolution of the kills.” Morgan says.  
“Evolution?” JJ asks.  
“Well, he started with easy prey. Jon Baker was in his mid sixties. It's relatively low-risk for a first-timer. Dedaimia Swanson was in her early fifties. She wouldn't be that difficult to overpower.”  
“But he didn't have to overpower either one of them. Both victims were shot.” Spencer says.  
“Which is my point exactly. He killed them both from a safe distance.  
But Brenda bright was younger, more athletic. She would have been able to put up much more of a fight, so why not shoot her, too?”   
“That supports the disorganized theory.” Hotch says.  
“Maybe he didn't get what he wanted from his first two victims. Brenda bright was an attractive woman. He used an arrow, but he didn't shoot her with it. He stabbed her. I think we all know what that means.” Rossi says. I feel a hand on my shoulder. I open my eyes and look over at Penelope.  
“You ok?” She asks me. I smile at her and nod.  
“Yup, I was just listening to the conversation.” I tell her. She mouths the word oh then looks back at the rest of the group.  
“When we land in Anchorage, there'll be a float plane to take us to Franklin. When we get there, Morgan and Prentiss work the crime scene.  
We need to know exactly how he ambushed his victims. Reid and Rossi, the bodies. Find out what you can there. JJ and I will work victimology.  
And, Garcia and Sheppard, town records. Find us something we can use.” Hotch says.  
“Of course, sir. I should let everybody know that reception in the area is unreliable at best. I'm giving everybody satellite phones for communication, and I've already preprogrammed all your digits into speed dial. Guess who's lucky number 7.” I chuckle slightly as it gets quiet.  
“Ok Abbie,” I look over at Derek. “You know how smart boy genius is, now tell us how smart you are.” Everyone is looking at me, except Hotch. He is sitting at the smaller table.  
“I’ve never measured my IQ so I don’t know how high or low it is, I graduated high school at 16, had my doctorate by 18, stayed in college for more years to get my associate's in zoology, geology, botany, cultural studies, and environmental studies, I have an eidetic memory but only with sound and I think that’s it.” They all are just staring at me. Then Derek shakes his head.  
“Now we have two geniuses.”  
“So that’s why you just closed your eyes and listened.” Penelope says. I nod.  
“I can remember the whole conversation and can tell it right back to you.”  
“Spooky.” she says. Soon after that we start to make our descent into the last frontier.


	4. Chapter 4

When the float plane landed in Franklin, we all filed off and headed inland. Penelope and I set up at Carol’s Tavern, well more Penelope told me where to put things while she fully set up. Everyone else went off to do there thing while Penelope typed and I watched. It was very interesting watching Penelope bringing people up and going through there past so easily.  
“Whoa.” I turn around and see a guy watching Penelope as well. “What are you doing?”  
“Trying to make this place a little less analog. Sorry. I forget my hacker jokes aren't funny. My name is Penelope. I'm the one who doesn't carry a weapon, aside from my biting wit. And my job includes combining my kick-ass systems with your sheriff's department database to get the skinny on your neighbors and you.”  
“Or you could just ask us what you want to know. I mean, isn't it better to just talk to us directly then look up our dirt secretly?”  
“No. Because in my experience, the information superhighway never lies and people do. Your name would be?”  
“Josh. My mom Carol, she owns the place.”   
“It goes like this.” Penelope turns around and starts typing away on her computer again. “Here we are. Joshua Beardsley, age 23, born right here in Franklin, AK. Moved to Anchorage for middle and high school. Majored in hotel management at Seattle U. And you moved back home a few weeks ago.” My eyes widen, that she got all of that.   
“Perfect timing, huh? I come home, people start dying.”  
“Hmm. That's when I check your criminal record. And you, my friend, are clean as a whistle.”  
“What does that even mean?”  
“No idea.” She laughs.  
“No dirt, anyway, so, I guess I'm safe, then?”  
“For now.” The kid, Josh, then noticed I was sitting there.  
“And you are?”  
“Abbie, I’m not an agent just a consultant.” He nods. His mom then calls him and we walks away. I then scoot back over by Penelope. “That was so badass!” I squeal. “How you got all that information in just a few moments is just amazing” She giggles.  
“Oh I know.” She then keeps typing as I watch her.

 

Penelope and I spent the whole time babbling as she types away at the people in the town. As it got later into the night, the rest of the team showed up with the sheriff. They catch us up on all they have figured out. Rossi goes over and starts a fire in the fireplace  
“He's already experimenting with his victims. He violated Brenda bright with an arrow.” Rossi says.  
“And he's inciting panic. People who have lived here most of their lives are packing up to leave.” Derek says.  
“Can you blame them? We have a psychopath whose hunting ground is a town of 1,400 people.” JJ says.  
“Most of them grew up learning to kill animals and start fires.” Spencer says.  
“It sounds like your basic survival skills.” There sheriff says.  
“No. They're hunting skills. Think about it. The marksmanship, The urine-- it makes sense.” Rossi says.  
“The urine makes sense?”   
“It's a hunter's trick. You urinate downwind to keep the animals away.” I says. Rossi looks over at me, amazed I knew that.  
“He tried to preserve Jon Baker's body so it would be discovered intact.” Rossi says.  
“Alright, so we've got a psychopath with hunting skills Who knows the routines of everyone in town. How are we supposed to keep everyone safe?” JJ asks  
“Sheriff, I suggest you institute a curfew until we have the unsub in custody. Nobody out after dark.” Hotch says.  
“I'll have one of my deputies patrolling around the clock.” Sheriff says.  
“Garcia, how's it coming with town records?”   
“I've run everyone who's been printed through CODIS. Nothing's come up so far. I'm gonna pull an all-nighter, finish going through the town records. Should have background checks by sunrise.” She says.  
“Good. The rest of us should get some sleep, start fresh in the morning.” Hotch says. The lady who owns the inn walks over to us.  
“I've got 4 of the upstairs rooms available.” She says  
“Uh, 4?” Spencer asks.  
“Come on, that's the best we can do. Your team is double the size of my department. I'll see you in the morning.” The sheriff says as he walks out of the inn.  
“Good night. It looks like we'll have to double up.” Hotch says.  
“I'm not sleeping with Reid.” Derek says. Spencer gets a confused look on his face, not understanding why Derek wouldn’t want to share a room with him. Penelope the grabs Derek’s hand.  
“Dibs.” She says. He chuckles and shake his head. Soon everyone partners up, leaving Spencer and I to share a room together.  
We head upstairs to our room, sadly there was only one bed. There was also a couch and a table as well, plus our own bathroom. Spencer doesn’t look at me or say a word. He just sets his bag down and wonders into the bathroom. Soon after I hear the shower running.  
I quickly change into a black tank top and batman pj bottoms with a light blue zip up sweatshirt over the shirt. I then pull out some files and notebook and sit at the table.   
While I was looking over the case file, Strauss had given me the files on the BAU members. She said that yes I would be helping everyone but my main focus was the group, which then made sense why she was okay with me going on cases with them.  
I start going through the first file, which is Hotch’s. As I start to read through the file and takes note, I hear the shower turn off. Spencer soon exits the bathroom in just a pair of blue plaid pj bottoms.  
My eyes widen slightly, seeing how toned he was. You wouldn’t guess he was with what he wears. He then quickly throws a shirt on and glances at me. I quickly look back down at my notes.  
“Uh, you can have the bed.” He mutters softly. I look over and smile at him.  
“Nah you take it, I’m going to be up for a while doing some work. Easier if I take the couch.” He looks up at me.  
“For the case?” I shake my head.  
“No, for my actual job, you know, the psychologist one.” He nods biting his lip.  
“Well then, night.” He crawls into bed and closes his eyes. He was asleep by the time I finished Hotch’s file.  
I work through Emily, Rossi, and JJ’s files when I get bored, wasn’t really tired though. I stretch, then decided to go see what Penelope was up to. I make sure to grab the key to the room, my satellite phone, and my .38 revolver.  
I head downstairs and noticed the Penelope was know where to be seen.  
“Penelope?” I look around still not seeing her. I then hear her yelling for help outside. I pull out my gun and run out the front door toward her voice. I see her kneeling next to a body. “Penelope.” She turns around at the sound as I get up beside her. That’s when I get a good look at the body, it was a guy covered in stab wounds and blood.  
“Killer was standing over him. I, I, I ran over to him and-and i tried to save him but, but...” She starts to cry. She looks up at me then wraps her arms around my waist and cries into my hips. I pet her head and just let her cry. I slip my phone out and called Hotch, informing him what has happened.


	5. Chapter 5

I ended up on my knees holding Penelope when the rest of the team got there. I looked up at them and Derek held his hand out. I helped Penelope up to her feet and Derek helps me take her inside. By this point she has stopped crying and is in a state of shocked. When we get inside, I have her sit down in a chair as I then noticed my jacket is covered in bloody handprints.  
“Why don’t you go clean up Abbie? We will take care of Penelope.” I look over at JJ and nod. I then head back upstairs to my room. The second I close the door, I throw my jacket off and lean against the door. I look down at my hands. They have some blood on them and they are shaking.  
I have seen pictures of dead bodies before but I have never seen one in real life. It was cold and covered in blood and I could feel that the life was gone from him. It was terrifying.   
I walk over to my bag and quickly change clothes. I slip on a pair of dark jeans and a dark pink shirt with sleeves that go just past my elbows. I then go into the bathroom and wipe the blood off my hands and the little bit that was on my face.  
I then decided to go back down stairs, so I wasn’t upstairs alone with my thoughts. As I head downstairs, Penelope storms by me up the stairs, fresh tears on her cheeks. I hear her door slam as I finished going down stairs.  
“What’s wrong with Penelope?” Derek and JJ both look at me. Derek then sighs and walks away.  
“She is just in shock.” I nodded. JJ then heads upstairs, probably to check on her. I then sit down on the couch, staring at the computers. I wrap my arms around me and pull my knees up. I can feel myself shaking again, just slightly. Soon the rest of the team comes in from outside. I look up at them as Emily comes and sits beside me.  
“Hey, are you doing ok?” She asks me setting her hand down on my elbow. I look at her and smile.  
“Yeah I’m fine, just worried about Penelope.” I say. She nods, understanding. Spencer sits down beside me as well not saying anything. I lean my head back against the couch. I close my eyes, and apparently was so exhausted that I fell asleep

 

I wasn’t sure when I fell asleep, but the next thing I knew is there was a hand on my shoulder, shaking me slightly. I open my eyes and look up and see Derek standing over me.  
“Sweetie, we’re about to give the profile, you need to get up.” I nod and sit up. I look around me and noticed Spencer is still sitting next to me. He’s face is red and he is trying his hardest to not look at me. I look at him confused as he quickly stands up and walks over to Hotch and Emily. I look at Derek who has an amused smile on his face.  
“What happened?” I ask. Derek sits down beside me.  
“Well you fell asleep on the couch. At some point though you moved and ended up sleeping with your head on boy genius’s shoulder.” My eyes widen and I cover my mouth, my face heating up. “You two were so cute together. He had no idea what to do.” I glance at Spencer and he has his back toward me.  
“Well-I-um, I’m going to go check on Penelope.” I quickly get up and head upstairs. I knock on her door. It takes a minute but then the door opens. Penelope still looks like she is in shock. She opens it wide enough for me to come in. I instantly sit on her bed and she sits next to me.  
“Listen, I know I’m new and all, but I am always here to listen. This is what I went to school for.” She smiles at that.  
“I’m ok.” I can tell by the look in her eyes that she isn’t being honest.  
“Come on talk to me and I will tell you a couple of stories dealing with a member of your team that I bet you want to know.” She looks at me for a moment, then sighs.  
“A few years ago, I was shot by a guy who thought I was on to him for murders that he had committed. Before I had passed out, I saw his face. I remember thinking that I was going to die alone and seeing horribleness. I didn’t want that for this guy. I wanted him to see something good before he died.....I felt him leave, I felt him die.” She starts to tear up again. I put my hand on hers.  
“It’s okay. For me, that was my first dead body I have ever seen in person. It got to me as well. That’s why we’re here right, to catch the guy who did this. It is ok to feel sad for him, we’re human. The best thing you can do is get back to work and find the guy who did this.” She looks at me and smiles.  
“I can see why this is your job, you’re good at it.” We giggle, as she hugs me. “So tell me these stories you promised.” I laugh and shake my head.  
“So the day before I started this job I had moved into a new apartment. I got hungry so I decided to go get some basic things. I can be stubborn sometimes, which means I carried all my groceries up at once, which means I couldn’t see where I was going. I got to my floor and ran right into someone. I fell to the floor my groceries going everywhere. Glad I didn’t buy eggs or anything breakable. When I looked up to who I had ran into...” I hesitated which she noticed.  
“Who? Who?” She was really curious.  
“It would be your personal boy genius, I live across the hall from him.” Her mouth drops open with a huge smile on her face as well.  
“Oh oh oh dude, that is so cool.”  
“He helped me with my groceries, we introduced ourselves and then he took off as fast he could.”  
“That sounds like Reid.”  
“Oh it gets better.” We turn toward each other, Penelope getting really into my story.  
“After what happened, I came up here and got changed then I went down stairs. The rest of the group came back in from outside, Emily on one side of me Spencer on the other. I lean my head back on the couch and apparently fell asleep. I woke up to Derek shaking me awake, I sat up and Spencer bolted up off the couch, face was red and wasn’t looking at me. I ask Derek what happened and he told me while I was asleep I apparently moved and slept on Spencer’s shoulder.” Penelope squealed.  
“I better be one of your guys’s bridesmaid at your wedding.” I shake my head.  
“I just met him a few days ago, let’s see what happens. For now, how bout we head back downstairs and find, what did you guys call it, the unsub.” Penelope nods agreeing as we head and back downstairs, her babbling about mine and Spencer’s wedding and how we could be so cute together and stuff like that.   
We see Emily, JJ and Spencer sitting there going through files. Spencer and JJ are sitting on the couch while it looked like Emily just walked in.  
“Yeah, we need the big guns.” Emily says.  
“Ripped and ready to rumble.” Penelope says. She walks over to the couch, JJ scoots over for her to sit.  
“Uh, maybe you should sit this one out.” JJ says.  
“No, Jaje, I'm OK. Put this bastard where he belongs. Joshua Beardsley?”   
“Yeah. We think he's our unsub.”  
“That’s the guy we talked to yesterday isn’t Penny?” I ask. She looks over at me and nods his head.   
“It’s not him.”  
“He fits the profile.” I look up and noticed the kids mom walking over to us. “Abandonment issue triggered by his father's recent death. Hunting experience,”   
“Reid--” JJ notices it as well and tries to get Spencer to stop talking.  
“Experimentation with animals.”  
“Reid.” Spencer finally notices her and shuts up.  
“You arrested my son?” She asks.  
“We brought him in as a precaution.” Emily says. She looks upset. I then walk over to her and lead her away from them.  
“Listen, I don’t think it was him, but having him in custody will help us figure out quicker that he isn’t it. I know it’s hard, but it’s for the best for your son.” She looks at me. She is still a little upset but calming down. “The second they prove it, he will come back home, I promise. Now go home and get some rest.” She nods, finally calming down. She then leaves as I come back over to the group.  
“If he was the unsub, I'd be dead right now.” Penelope says. Emily looks over at me.  
“You did a pretty good job with her, she didn’t seem as upset as before.”  
“It’s my job.” I then sit down on the arm of the couch next to Spencer. He glances up at me and then quickly looks back down. Penelope notices it as well and starts to giggle. JJ and Emily look at her confused. She mouths I’ll tell you later and goes back to typing. I lean down a little toward Spencer and whisper in his ear.  
“I’m sorry for falling asleep on your shoulder.” I sit back up and he looks at me. “I keep putting you in embarrassing situations.” He looks back down then back up at me biting his lip.  
“It’s ok.” He tells me. I smile at him. We then all start looking through files of the people in this town.  
“Wait a minute. You said the unsub has abandonment issues. And Craig Ramey was leaving town, right?” Penelope asks.  
“Yeah, he couldn't wait to get out of town.” Emily says.  
“Ok. Uh...Let's see. Dedaimia Swanson was retiring in a month. She was moving to Florida.”  
“What about the other two?” JJ asks.   
“UN, Jon Baker just bought property in Fairbanks, and he and his wife just separated. She just filed the divorce papers.”  
“Well, welcome back, red delicious.” We all look up and see Derek standing there.  
“Take a bite out of this. So far, 3 of our victims Were on the fast track to getting out of town. And let's see...Connect 4. Brenda just accepted a job in Seattle.”  
“Anyone else look like they might be leaving town?” Derek asks.   
“Um I got one. Kat Allen. She was accepted to the summer honors program at the university of Bloomington. She currently works as a waitress at Big John's coffeehouse.”  
“Penelope, you are--”  
“So ready to go home.”  
“Prentiss.” Emily gets up and her and Derek take off for the coffee house. I try to help by going through files but I didn’t think I was doing much. I ended up heading upstairs to my room. I go back to my files and start working through them. I get through all of them but one, Dr. Spencer Reid.  
As I start to read through it, I hear the door open. I look up and see Spencer. He looks at me and walks over to me. He stands in front of me rocking on the balls of his feet and looking at the ground. I close the file and look at him. I can tell he wants to say something so I stay quiet and let me tell me on his own.  
“I--I’m sorry that I, I am as nervous as I’ve been...I, I’m not use to situations like this, and I-I don’t know how to act or say or--”  
“Spencer.” He stops and looks up at me. “It’s ok. I get that you are a little awkward, but from what I see that is who you are so don’t worry about it. If you want we can be friends, I’ll learn your quirks and you can learn mine.” He looks back down at the ground, clears his throat, and nods his head. I then stand up and put my hand on his shoulder which makes him look back up at me. “Don’t worry about.”  
“I just, I just thought that’s why--”  
“No that isn’t why I came up here. I didn’t think I was helping so I started working on some other stuff.” He nods, biting his lip again. I chuckle slightly and ruffle his hair.   
I then walk past grab some stuff and walk into the bathroom shutting the door behind me. I take a quick shower, as I am I noticed that I am still shaking a little. I finally get out, slipping on a red long sleeve shirt and black pj bottoms. When I get out, I see Spencer sitting on the bed. I come out with my arms wrapped around me, trying to hide the fact that my hands are shaking. Spencer looks up at me with a serious look.  
“Are you ok? I noticed your hands keep shaking.” I look away and sit on the edge of the bed.  
“I have never seen an actual dead body before. I mean, I’ve seen pictures and stuff but never a real one. It just got to me a little bit. Makes me realize what these guys actually can do.”  
“What do you mean?” I turn around and cross my legs looking at him.  
“My job previous to this was a psychologist at Florence ADX in Colorado. I would talk to the criminals, there families, and there victim’s family and such. I have seen pictures of what they have done, never got to me.” Spencer nods. “ I just need to calm down, and probably get some sleep.”  
“You can sleep in the bed, I can move to the couch.” Spencer says as he gets up and moves to the couch..  
“No, Spencer I can--”  
“I insist.” He says then sits on the couch. I realized there was no point argueing so I laid down in the bed. I take a deep breath and start whispering The Raven till I fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning made me feel horrible. Josh’s mom had been murdered in her home last night. I had felt bad because I was the one to send her home. I was also told that Hotch would like me to go with Rossi and Spencer to tell Josh about his mom. I quickly got dressed in dark jeans, dark blue shirt with my black blazer jacket over it.  
When we get to the station, we wait for the deputy to bring Josh out. I take a few deep breaths, knowing how hard it is to tell someone that someone they care about is gone. I look up when I see both of them coming out of the back.  
“You guys finally realize I'm innocent?” Josh says. I sit on the desk and look at him.  
“Josh, could you please have a seat?” I asks him. He looks at me.  
“You’re the consultant right?” I nod.  
“My name is Abbie. I need to talk to you.”  
“If it’s about the murders, I’ll say it again I didn’t do it.” He sits down in the chair. I smile slightly at him and set my hand on top of his.  
“I know. The killer struck last again last night.” He looks at me  
“Who did he get?” I bite my lip.  
“That’s what I want to talk to you about.” He looks at me. He then quickly looks around the room  
“Where's my mom?” I take a deep breath. “No. No. No. No, no, no, no. No, no, no, that's impossible. She--she was just here. I--I just talked to her!” He stands up, trying not to cry.  
“I am so sorry Josh. She’s gone.”  
“Oh, no. No, no, no, no. No, no. You-- You're lying.”  
“I know it’s hard to accept, but she is gone, Josh.”  
“I need to see her.” I shake my head.  
“You don’t want the last image of her to be of what he did to her.” He kinda collapses back into the chair.  
“Joshua, we know you need time to mourn, but the fact of the matter is, the man who did this is still out there, and we think that you can help us find him.” Spencer says. Josh looks up at him and Rossi.  
“You had me locked up while she was-- I could have helped her.”  
“Then there is a good chance you would be gone as well, but right now we need your help.” I tell him.  
“Why me?”  
“The murders began when you returned to town. Now, up until now, he's only targeted people who were trying to leave, but for some reason, with your mother, it was personal.” Spencer says.  
The pressure's on. The FBI is here.” Rossi says.  
“In that situation, a serial killer wants to finish what he started, he goes after the true target of his cause.”   
“Personal?” Josh asks.   
“Can you think of anyone who had a grudge against her? Anyone at all?” Rossi asks.  
How about anyone with a grudge against you?” Spencer asks.   
“No. No. Everybody loved her.” He says.  
“The man that we're looking for has severe abandonment issues. Now, can you think of a time when you or your mother left somebody, Maybe like a bad break-up or a fight that ended a friendship? Did your mother ever take anyone in at the inn Who had family problems, Maybe someone who had been kicked out Or lost someone unexpectedly?” Spencer asks. Josh all of a sudden gets a look in his eyes, the way he was sitting changes. He quickly stands up  
“No. No, no, no, no, there was nothing like that. Uh, listen, can I go see my mom now?” He asks.  
“Josh. Josh, you need to let these people help.” The deputy says.  
“No, I need-- I need to see my mom.”  
“Well, let's have someone take you.” Rossi says.  
“It's OK. I know the way.” He quickly leaves. I look back at them  
“His composure changed to helping to wanting to get out of here as quickly as possible. He knows who did it.” I tell them. They nod agreeing.  
“Let’s get back to the tavern and tell the rest of the group.” Spencer says. We then quickly head back to the car.


	7. Chapter 7

When we got back, Rossi informed them about that. I tried blocking them out, trying to figure out what was going. At some point, Rossi, Hotch, and Spencer wander off with the sheriff. I then go and sit beside Penelope.  
We soon figure out that it was a teenage boy named Owen Porter. His father had abused him and Josh had taken him under his wing. They got him before Josh could kill him.   
We were finally home early the next morning. I go into my office and set my to go bag now and collapse in my chair. I sit there holding my head, not sure why I was even on that case when I didn’t even really do anything.  
“Hey.” I look up and see Penelope standing there. “You ok?” I sigh and lean back in my chair.  
“I feel like I didn’t really do anything on this case.” I say. Penelope walks in and sits in the chair in front of my desk.  
“If it weren’t for you, who knows how long it would of taken to get my mojo back. You helped me, which helped me be able to help find the unsub.” She reached over and grabbed my hand. “That’s what you did on this case.” I smile at her.  
“Thanks.” She smiles at me. She then gets up to leave. “Hey Penelope.” She turns back around toward me. “I just moved into my new place. How about you come over later tonight and we can hang out, like a movie or something.” She smiles.  
“I’d like that. Can I invite other people, like the team? We could make it a whole big party t get to know you and you get to know us and it could loads of fun.” I laugh at how excited she is getting about this party.  
“That sounds amazing, only if you bring the drinks.” I didn’t think she could get any more excited about this. She then walks off, probably to invite everyone to the party I was now throwing. I then pull out my files I was given and decided to finish them.   
After I finish, I put the files away in my filing cabinet, grab my stuff, and head home. I was exhausted so I decided to go get a little sleep before getting things ready for this party I am now having. When I get home, it takes me a minute to find my keys in my purse. While I’m looking for them, I hear a door open behind me.  
“Why are you just getting home?” I finally open my door and look back at Spencer.  
“I had to finish a couple of files Strauss gave me to work on. Now I am going to take a little nap before this party I am now throwing.” Spencer nods with a slight grin.  
“Yeah, I heard about that. Garcia sent out a mass text to us.” I shake my head.  
“It started off with me asking her if she wanted to come hang out and she turned it into this whole party for the team.” I lean against my door frame.  
“That is Garcia for you.” I nod.  
“I figured that. You wanna come in for a drink or something? I still owe you for running into you.” He shakes his head.  
“No I am going to go read, I’ll be over tonight. Garcia is giving me no choice.”  
“That’s because you live across the hall from me, silly boy.” I ruffle his hair. “Then I shall see you tonight, brain.” I wink at him and walk into my apartment, shutting the door behind me. I hear Spencer’s door shut about a minute later. I chuckle to myself. He is adorable. I then lay down on my couch, barely able to help to keep my eyes open anymore and I crash.


	8. Chapter 8

I woke up a few hours later, feeling rested, even if it was only four hours. I get up, take a quick shower, get dressed in red skinny jeans, a black Harley Quinn shirt, and my black converse shoes. I slip my hair into a side braid and grab my purse. I decided to go out to get things for this party I am now throwing since I know I don’t have any food food or anything.  
I went shopping getting different food, plastic plates and cups and silverware, and a few other things I thought I needed for my place. When I finally get home, again I am stubborn, so I try to take everything up at once.   
When I get to my floor, I see Spencer standing at the top of the stairs. Without saying a word, he grabs half of my bags and starts heading toward my apartment. I stand there for a minute, confused on what just happened. I quickly catch up to him and let him into my place. He sets the stuff down on the kitchen table. I then give him a weird look.  
“I heard you leave. I waited for you to get home so we wouldn’t have another run in.” I stare at him for a minute and then I start laughing. Spencer looks at with a confused look, not sure why I am laughing. I ruffle his hair again  
“You are adorable!” I then hug him. I feel his body stiffen under me. I guess he wasn’t use to being hugged. Just as I was about to let go of him, I felt one of his arms wrap around me. It was weird, it was one of the first times in a long while that I felt safe. It felt good and it scared me at the same time. I pulled away and look back at all my stuff I bought, avoiding eye contact with Spencer. I take a few deep breaths trying to calm myself down.  
“So, will you help me set up for this thing?” I finally look up at him and noticed he wasn’t beside me anymore. I start looking for him around my apartment. I found Spencer looking at my books. I walk over to him and stand beside him.  
“You have a bunch of different subjects here, lots of nonfiction but also some fiction as well, even some in other languages.” He tells me. I watch him looking at them and get an idea.  
“Let’s play a game.” He looks over at me. “Figure out which book I read more than any other with just your amazing profiling skills while I get ready for this gathering.” He doesn’t say anything, he just instantly goes looking through my books.   
I shake my head and head back to the kitchen. I set the food into the fridge as I set out all the other food and plates and things. I set the other things I got into my room and then shut the door. I come back to see Spencer sitting on my couch with a book in hand.  
“You like Edgar Allen Poe.” It sounded more like a statement then a question. I walk over and sit beside him.  
“Yeah I do, he is my favorite author.” I then noticed he is holding my collection of Edgar Allen Poe’s stories. He turns and looks at me.  
“Your favorite work by him?” I smile at him.  
“Depends if we are talking short stories or poems.”  
“Both.”  
“How bout I say a line from my favorite short story and poem and you tell me?” I stand up in front of him thinking of which line to do. I look right at him. “‘Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!’ I shrieked, upstarting— ‘Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore! Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!’” I freeze as I watch him going through his memory.  
“The Raven.” I smile and nod.  
“TRUE! --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily --how calmly I can tell you the whole story.” Again I watch him wrack his brain.  
“The Tell-Tale Heart.” I nod again, just as there is a knock at the door. I walk over and answer the door. Derek and Penelope were standing there both holding two bottles of wine each. I let them both in.  
Soon everyone is here, including JJ and Hotch, which surprised Penelope since they both have kids. She was even shocked that I got Spencer over here. The rest of the night was amazing. We all talked and I got to know them all more, they told me about old cases, funny moments, all sorts of things.   
Penelope also seemed to be talking Spencer up a bunch. It could've just been my imagination but she kept telling me all these things about him.  
As it start to get later in the night, they started filing out. First Hotch and JJ, probably to get home to there kids, then Rossi, then Emily. Derek, Penelope, and Spencer stuck around for a little longer, asking me more questions and telling me more stories.  
“I asked ‘then what was it?’ and he answered ‘a second opinion’. It was hilarious.” Penelope tells me. I laugh while Spencer gets an embarrassed look while laughing slightly.  
“That is amazing.”  
“Baby girl, I think it’s time to hit the road.” Derek says.   
“Awwww do we have to?” I hug her.  
“We will hang out again, next time just you and me.” I tell her.  
“I’ll hold you to that.” Penelope and Derek take off soon after that. I shake my head and start cleaning up. Spencer also started helping me. I turn and look back at him.  
“You don’t have to, you know. You can go home if you want.”  
“It’s ok I don’t mind.” He keeps cleaning up and I just stand there and watch him for a minute, then help clean up. It’s quiet while we clean up. After it’s all clean up, Spencer looks at me, bites his lip, and quickly leaves the apartment, without saying a single world.  
I just stared at the door for a minute, not sure what to make of that boy. One minute he is sweet and friendly then next he is distant and awkward. I shake my head and decided to forget about it and head to bed.


	9. Chapter 9

A couple of months have past with not much activity. I’ve seen Spencer a few times since that party, about a week or so after it though he had gotten a haircut which looked really good on him.   
I had run into Penelope a bunch though. We talk all the time, she would especially bug me while the rest of the team was out on a case, which I didn’t mind.  
If I wasn’t at work, I was dancing. I have loved dancing since I was a little girl. It is one of the only times I can escape reality, even if it’s just for the length of a song.  
Penelope decided she wanted to have a girls night, which included me. She told me to meet her outside a club called Ultrabar. I didn’t have to work today, so I stayed home, practicing my dances all day.  
When it got close to when I was suppose to meet the girls, I took a shower and quickly got dressed in white skinny jeans, dark purple tank top with a black lace long sleeve shirt over it and my ankle high silver boots. I decided to leave my hair down and very light make up. I quickly grab my purse, make sure everything is still in it and head out. As I am locking my door I hear the door open behind me. I quickly turn around and smile at him.  
“Hey Spencer.” His eyes widen as he looks me up and down, his cheeks redden slightly.  
“I, uh, I was-uh, I didn’t mean to, uh, bug you--” I chuckle slightly.  
“Don’t worry Spencer, Penelope is forcing me into a girls night with her, JJ, and Emily.” He looked at the floor and started rocking on the balls of his feet. He still looked really nervous and it was just making him more adorable. “Did you need something?”  
“I was, um, just going to, uh ask if you wanted to, um do something together, like uh like as friends.” I chuckle again at how cute he was when we was nervous.  
“Well can’t tonight, but if you don’t have a case tomorrow I am totally up for it.” I ruffle his hair and start heading down the hallway. “By the way, love the haircut.” I wink then quickly take off for the club.

 

I get to the club pretty quickly after that. I meet up with Penelope, JJ, and Emily and we headed in. We had a blast. We talked and danced, Emily and I even had a few guys ask us to dance. We even had a few shots. I made sure not to drink too much since I knew I had to drive home.  
Throughout the night, I noticed something was off with JJ though. I wanted to ask her if something was up but if she wasn’t saying what was wrong with us all around her, I’d ask her later.  
We finally decided to call it a night. Emily and Penelope took off one way, JJ and I take off the other way.  
“What a night.” JJ says. I nod.  
“Must be nice having a night off from all those cases you guys do.”  
“Yeah...” She looks at the ground, traveling into her thoughts. I look at her.  
“What’s up? Something been bothering you all night.” She looks up at me. After a little bit, she sighs.  
“I have a meeting tomorrow morning with Hotch and Strauss. Strauss figured out I have gotten a few job offers from the pentagon. I’m worried she is going to make me take them. It would look good for her if I got this promotion, but I don’t want to go. I like the job I have now, I don’t want to go.” She goes quiet. I look forward.  
“When we were in Alaska and I had sent that mom home and then she was killed, at first I started to blame myself. I started thinking ‘if I wouldn’t of sent her home she would be ok’. But I believe that everything in this world happens for a reason. If she wouldn’t of been murder, then we wouldn’t of found the killer. If you are meant to take this job, then you will. Everything has a reason.” It’s quiet between us for a little bit. We finally get to our cars.  
“Thank you, Abbie.” I turn and look at JJ and smile at her.  
“It’s my job, plus I care about you.” I giver her a hug. “You need anything you can always talk to me.” I let go of her.  
“Thanks.” We then said our goodbyes and we go our separate ways.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, as I walk into the office, I noticed almost the whole team, minus JJ, Hotch, Rossi, and Derek, all very closely watching Hotch’s office. I walk over to them and stand beside Penelope.  
“What are you guys doing?” I ask. Spencer looks back at me.  
“JJ, Hotch, and Strauss are in there talking and have been for awhile.” He tells me then looks back at the window.  
“It's been, like, what, 20 minutes?” Penelope asks.  
“Well, 10 more minutes, we're in the air.” Look behind me and see Derek standing there, with his to go bag.  
“I don't think it's about the case.” Emily says. Penelope looks right at her, questionly.  
“Do you know something?” She asks Emily.  
“Do I know something?” She repeated.  
“She just repeated the question. You always say that's a sign.”  
“Do you know why JJ's in there?” Derek asks her.  
“I have no idea.” Emily says.  
“What is going on?” Penelope asks.   
“Maybe she asked for a raise.” Spencer says. I sigh and shake my head.  
“If you only knew.” I whispered to myself and then head toward my office. They are all soon following me, except they are heading toward the elevator. I walk back to Penelope and wave at them all. “Good luck.” I tell them. Most of them give me smiles and nod, while Spencer gave me a confusing look. I wrap my arm around Penelope’s shoulders. “Come on sweetie.”  
“But JJ--”  
“Is ok, everything that happens, happens for a reason.” She looks at me with a look that I can’t quite make out.  
“You know what’s going on don’t you? Tell me.” We walk into her lair, as she likes to call it, and she sits down.  
“Not my thing to tell.” I tell her and quickly retreat to my office before she can ask me any more questions

 

The case of the missing girl in Atlantic Beach, Maryland turned out to be a good case. They found the girl alive and were able to arrest the guy who did it. I was sitting in my office just about to leave when I hear a knock on my door. I look up and see JJ there.  
“Hey.” I say. She looks at me with a sad look in her eyes, trying not to cry.  
“I’m gone at the end of the week.” I nod.  
“You ok?”   
“Better than I thought I would be, thanks to you.” I walk over to her.  
“Why me?”  
“For what you said the other night. It just helped me accept this better. I still don’t like it but--” I give her a hug.  
“It will be ok. May not seem like it now but it will be.” She nods. “Oh I have something for you.” I turn around and grab a couple of tickets out of my bag. “I have a dance recital in about a month, I’d like it if you and Will would come.” She takes the tickets and looks at me.  
“You dance?” I chuckle.  
“I do but don’t tell the others yet.” She nods and chuckles as well.  
“Thanks.”  
“No problem.” I knew she wasn’t talking about the tickets. She was about to turn to leave then she looked back at me.  
“I have one favor to ask of you. Would you make sure Spencer is ok? He doesn’t handle when people leave this team very well and with you leaving across the hall from him...”  
“I can do that.” She nods and walks off. I sigh, wishing I could help more but knowing that I was stuck. I then take off for home.

 

I wasn’t even home five minutes before there was a knock at the door. I had barely set my stuff down, when it happened. I quickly run back to the door and open it. Spencer is standing there with a look that I can’t quite make what it is.  
“Did you know?” He asks before I can say anything. I look at him, wondering if he is talking about JJ or something else. He walks past me into my apartment. I shut the door and look at him. “Did you know about JJ?” I sigh and sit down on my couch. I glance at him then stare at my hands.  
“While we were out on girls night, JJ confided in me and told me how she had gotten the job offers and the meeting and was scared Strauss was going to make her take the job. I gave her some advice that she told me today actually did help her.” Spencer sits down on the couch, turned in a way so he can look at me.  
“What did you tell her?” I look up at him.  
“I told her what I believe, and what I believe is that everything happens for a reason. We might not know that reason but there is a reason.” It’s quiet for a minute. I reach out and set a hand on top of Spencer’s. He looks at it then up at me. “I know it’s hard, losing a member of your family, I get it. She is still in town though and you will see her a bunch. It will be ok.” He starts nodding a bunch. I scooted close to Spencer and hugged him.  
This time he instantly hugged me back. We sat like that for a minute, then I pulled away. I looked up at him and his eyes connected with mine. I felt like I couldn’t look away. Again, I felt like I was safe and nothing could get to me. I felt like I could dive into his hazel eyes and never have to worry about anything. I liked the feeling but it still scared me. I finally look away, stand up and walk over to my kitchen table. I take a few deep breaths and then look back at Spencer.  
“So did you want to still hang out?” I ask. He looks over at me, studying me.  
“What would we do?” He asks. I think about it for a minute and then smile.  
“I could order food, make some popcorn, watch one of three things: Castle, Firefly, or Stardust, and have some very interesting conversations about it.” He thinks about.  
“Well, I’ve seen Firefly and Stardust, what’s Castle?” I smiles and jump onto the couch beside him.  
“Well, it has got Nathan Fillion in it and lots of Firefly references. He is a crime novelist and helps the NYPD.” I bring it up on the tv and start playing the first episode. While watching, I end up making popcorn and ordering Chinese food and we spent the night watching Castle and just hanging out.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written my own episode before, I did the best I could

The next three weeks not a lot happened. Work hasn’t been busy for me, so I have been either at home or practicing dance. When I wasn’t busy and the team wasn’t on a case Spencer and I were hanging out, which was a lot. Sometimes it was at my place, watching movies and playing chess. Sometimes we went out to movies or coffee shops.  
I mainly have been practicing dancing. I have a dance recital at the end of the week and it has been very stressful. I am part of a dance group and all of us have been practicing a lot.  
That is what we were doing today. I didn’t have work so we were at the theater we would be performing at and practicing a lot.  
“It would be easier if Heather was here and not hooking up with the maintenance guy.” One of the dancer says. We were taking a break and just talking to each other.  
“Have we even seen her this morning?” I ask. All the other dancers look around at each other and shake there head. I shake my head. “You guys stretch, I’ll go check to see if she is in the maintenance room.” All the other girls start giggling. I shake my head and get up. As I start heading toward the basement, my phone starts ringing. “Hello?” I ask without looking at it.  
“Hey Abs, it’s Spencer.” I freeze on the steps, shocked that he had called me.   
“Hey brain what’s up?” I get to the basement, which has always creeped me out. It makes you think of the basement in horror movies.  
“So Halloween is coming up in the next couple of weeks-”  
“I love Halloween, my favorite holiday.” I get to the maintenance room and open the door.  
“I do as well, so there are a couple of different things happening for-”  
“Oh my god!” I nearly scream. I found Heather, her hands and feet bloodied, hanging from the ceiling. Lying around her feet were three other women also with bloodied hands and feet.  
“Abbie what’s wrong?” I ended up back against the wall, trying to gain a full breath of air in my lungs.  
“Spencer....oh god...bodies, four of them, oh god, there dead...oh god.” I can feel the tears streaming down my face.  
“Abbie, calm down, tell me where you are and the team and I will be right there.” I tell them the address and tell him to hurry then run back up to the stage.

 

The team got there within 30 minutes and were looking at the crime scene. Derek and Spencer stayed up with me, talking to me.  
“She is one of the dancer that’s a part of my group. We were here last practicing. She was still here when I left last night. When I got here this morning she was still here. I thought she had stayed to hook up with the maintenance guy, it wouldn’t be the first. After three hours though, none of us had seen her so I went to check. That’s when I found her...” I cover my mouth and shake my head.  
“It’s ok, it was lucky that you were on the phone with pretty boy here.” Derek says. I look up at him and Spencer and nod slightly. I stand up and turn away from them.  
“I’ve worked with guys who do this. I’ve seen pictures of what they have done to people. The first body I saw was back in Alaska, but this...this is someone I know.” I wipe the tears from my face and turn back toward them. “I want to help anyway I can.”  
“If you let us come to this recital of yours.” Derek smiles. I look at him and shake my head.  
“I already have tickets for all of you, just haven’t given them to you guys yet.” I say. Derek shakes his head and chuckles. Spencer sets a hand on my shoulder. “I’m ok guys, I just want to find the scumbag who did this to Heather.” They nod as they walk me out and we head back to the building.


	12. Chapter 12

Almost the second we walked into the office, Penelope grabbed me into a huge hug.  
“My sweet sweet flower seeing such horrible and icky things. It will all be ok.” She tells me, hugging me very tight and petting my hair.  
“Not if I die from suffocation.” She quickly lets go of me.  
“IS there anything I can get you?”   
“Some tea would be nice.” She quickly walks off. I shake my head and head toward my office. Instead of sitting at my desk, I start pacing the room, not able to sit still. I take a few deep breaths, trying to relax myself and then I start saying The Raven. I memorized it as a kid and every time my emotions get out of hand, I say it to calm me down.  
“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;   
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token, And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?” This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!”—”  
“Merely this and nothing more.” I turn around and see Spencer standing in my doorway holding a mug. He hands it to me. “Garcia had to go back to her computer room.” I nod as I take a sip from the mug.  
“I say that to try and relax me. I’ve done it since I was a kid.” I finally sit down on the couch, just staring into my mug.  
“You ok?” I look up at Spencer, who is now sitting next to me. I then look back at the mug.  
“Just...it’s usually me as the last one there. I like to stay late and practice the solo I have in this recital. I decided not to last night and went home when everyone else but Heather went home. I know everything happens for a reason and all but it doesn’t mean it isn’t creepy to think that it could’ve been me.” I say. It is quiet between us. I then feel an arm around my shoulders as Spencer gives me a side hug. I lay my head on his shoulder, just enjoying the feeling of having a friend here.

 

A few hours later, they had figured out the the other bodies were also dancers but I didn’t know who any of them were. One was a pole dancer, one was a cheerleader, and the other was part of her dancing group in college.  
They were going to look more into it in the morning, though they wanted to make sure that I was protected. With me being a dancer, I was in danger. I have never felt this much in danger, even when I worked at the prison. Since Spencer lived across the hall from me, he told them he would stay with me.  
When we got to my place, I told Spencer to make himself comfortable and I was going to take a shower. When I got in, the feeling of the hot water helped relax my tense muscles. I quickly got out and got dressed in some furry purple pants, black tank top, and my black zip up sweatshirt. I look and see that Spencer is back in my room, reading a book. I go and sit beside him.   
“You have very interesting interest.” Spencer says. I look at the book he is reading. At first glance, you would think it was a children’s book. When you look closer at it, you realize it is an adult book about some interesting animals.  
“Hey, cryptids are interesting to learn about. This is one of my favorite books, I have it practically memorized.”  
“Maybe your second favorite book. Your first favorite is that collection of Edgar Allen Poe.” I smile and nod.  
“Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.” I look over at him. “He is my favorite author. I have always found comfort in that book.” I lay my head on Spencer’s shoulder and sigh. “You guys will catch who did this right? I don’t like being afraid.” Spencer closes the book. He then lays his head on top of mine.  
“We’ll catch him, I promise.” I nod. I then feel the adrenaline finally wearing off and I fall asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning I got up and quickly got ready, wanting to get to work so we could find the unsub who did this. When Spencer and I got there, I went into the conference room and started looking through the files, not even saying hi to anyone else.  
We can’t find any connection between any of the victims other than they were all dancers. We also can’t figure out the motive for these crimes. It was starting to frustrated me. After a while I got up to go get me a cup of tea. While I was waiting for the water to boil, Rossi came over to get himself a cup of coffee.  
“Guess you never had to deal with this at the prison.” He says. I look over at him shaking my head.  
“By the time I got there, crime was solved. I just learned there perspective of it.” I start to chuckle. Rossi gives me a look.  
“Okay, I’ll bite.”  
“Just thinking about some of the stupid reasons some of them would commit there crimes. One had robbed a bank and killed a security guard all because he lost a bet. Most were just nuts...” My voice trails off as I start thinking.  
“Okay, you are like Reid, I can hear the gears turning.”  
“One of the main reason any of them did there crimes was because of jealousy, like 60% or so of them.”  
“So?”  
“What if that’s why this unsub did it? They were jealous that they were dancer.”  
“That would makes sense.”  
“She probably got injured which meant she couldn’t dance anymore.”  
“Which would mean any time they saw someone who dance they would kill them, no matter what kind of dancing it was.” Rossi then turns around and leaves, probably to tell the rest of the team. My starts traveling, thinking about something that happened a few days ago.

 

Heather and I were discussing the dance one of our dance routines. I started showing her a move when I had ran into someone. It was one of the techs we had. Her name, she had told me, was Alice. I smile at her.  
“You’re really good.” She tells me. I smile at her and nod.  
“Thanks.” I tell her. She walks over to us. She has a slight limp in her right leg.  
“You know, if you bend your knee a little more you can get your leg higher.” I look at her and then try it and it worked.  
“Thanks, that really helps.” She smiles at me.  
“I could help some more if you want.” Before I had a chance to answer, Heather spoke up.  
“We’re fine just go back to the tech work that you do.” Alice looks down and nods and walks away. I turn back toward Heather.  
“What was that for?” Heather rolls her eyes.  
“She can’t dance, we don’t need her help. Let’s just get back to work.” I stood there for a second, then followed Heather.

 

I quickly head toward Penelope’s lair, having an idea. When I walk in she is typing away at the computer. She looks back at me.  
“Hey girlie I still haven’t found any leads.”  
“That’s fine, I need you to look up someone for me.” She gives me a weird look and turns back toward her computer.  
“Tell me who.”  
“Look up Alice Stewart.” She starts typing away on her computer.  
“Uh, let’s see, Alice Stewart 26 year old from here. She has been a dancer since she could walk. Had a scholarship for Juliard but she was in a freak accident that damaged her right leg. She hasn’t danced since.” I look at the picture on the screen. That’s her. “Looks like she is a technician analyst place she worked is....oh at the theater for your recital.”  
“Tell the rest of the team. I’m heading toward the theater.” She nods as I take off for the theater.

 

By the time I get there, Spencer has left a bunch of messages on my phone. I ignored them because I know what they will all say and I think I know what to do. I walked into the theater and see Alice on the stage.  
“Alice!” She looks over at me, startled.  
“Abbie, what are you doing here?” She seemed shocked.  
“Alice, I need you to listen to me. I know why you have been doing it.” Her eyes widen as she looks at me.  
“You don’t understand anything.” I get up on the stage and start walking carefully toward her.  
“I do. You loved dancing, didn’t you?” Her eyes start tearing up and she nods.  
“It was my life, it was everything to me.”  
“I understand that. Those girls, they didn’t understand the gift they had.” She shakes her head.  
“They took advantage of it. I had to show them a lesson.”  
“I get that I do.” I finally get close to her. “You’re going to have to go away.” She nods. “Before my friends at the FBI show up, would you help me on my dance?” She looks at me, her eyes huge.  
“Really?” I smile and nod.   
“Only if you promise to go with them willingly.” She gets a big smile and nods. I then start showing her my solo dance and she helped me with parts of it. Soon, Derek, Emily, and Spencer walk in. She looks at me and gives me a hug.  
“Thank you.” She whispers. Then she pulls away and they arrest her. Hotch and Rossi walk her out. Derek and Spencer walk over to me and Derek smacks me upside the head.  
“You should’ve waited for us kid.” I rub the back of my head and give him a look.  
“I knew what I was doing.” I then pull out my gun from the back of my pants. “Plus I knew I was ok. I always have this on me.” Derek shakes his head and walks off.  
“You still should of waited.” Spencer had said it so quiet that I almost didn’t hear him.  
“Hey I’m okay I promise.” He nods as we walk out.


End file.
